As a debater, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy senior Maddie Collins has a lot going for her — poise, confidence and a clear speaking voice she's polished for years as a member of the school's speech and debate team.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said the greatest threat to religion in the world is when it is closely tied to politics.
“The most...

Burbank City Council candidate Christopher Rizzotti said he's being unfairly criticized for his faith and affiliation with an evangelical youth group after a Burbank man alleged that Rizzotti holds anti-gay views.
"I don't understand why I'm the only...

The decision whether to keep the city’s at-large voting system or split the community into districts could be up to local voters next spring as the Glendale City Council is leaning toward placing the question on a ballot.
The council on Tuesday...

The documentary “deepsouth” chronicles four people in the American South and how they are trying to find a solution to the region’s HIV epidemic. In the film, there is a scene where a health teacher in Mississippi uses candies in cups to...

As 2014 winds down, the lights go up, and the decorations sparkle. The children shriek with delight at the latest "Frozen" gear, and adults drink too much while giving one another silly gifts.
But shortly after the New Year, residents in Burbank and Glendale will have a chance to actually give the city a gift: voting. Our participation rates are lousy — 18% in Burbank and 21% in Glendale during the last round of municipal elections in 2013. City officials impact your life far more than any other...

Lawmakers in Michigan are considering passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill that would legally protect people from practicing “sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
Critics of the bill say it provides legal protection for people, including business owners, to discriminate against certain people due to their beliefs.
Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) countered, citing examples of a baker declining to make a wedding cake for a...

Having been under the threat of a lawsuit for the past year, the Glendale City Council this week agreed to ask voters in April if the city should switch from its long-standing at-large voting system to individual districts.
Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman sent a letter to city officials in December 2013 claiming Glendale discriminates against Latinos because they have poor representation on the dais, an alleged violation of the California Voting Rights Act. In his letter, he threatened to take the city to...

To ensure that all students of various economic, gender or ethnic backgrounds succeed at Glendale Community College, officials have been working for months to create a new comprehensive student-equity plan as they adhere to a mandate issued by the state’s two-year college system.
The Glendale campus was also given $870,000 this fiscal year to create the plan, which targets various groups to determine how to help them reach their goals of transferring to a four-year school or completing a degree...

”Sure, I’ve been a geek and a nerd since I was a little kid,” admits Jody Wheeler, vice-president of Bent-Con, the upcoming convention celebrating the wide cross-sections where LGBTQ and fanboy culture meet. “I had all the Star Wars figures,” he explains, “and Princess Leia was inevitably the first casualty of every battle…because she stood in the way of Luke Skywalker’s and Han Solo’s undying love for each other. I’d put her in the hospital, so...

A law firm was recently hired by Glendale Community College officials to help the school on an “as-needed” basis with redistricting matters.
College officials began a discourse over redistricting a little over two years ago when consultants warned college officials in February 2012 that an at-large election process could leave the college vulnerable to lawsuits connected to the California Voting Rights Act.
The 2002 act aims to protect the voting clout of minority groups by mandating a...

City officials will solicit feedback from community groups about whether Glendale should establish council districts after they received a letter from a private attorney alleging the current at-large voting system is polarizing minorities in local elections and leaves the city open to litigation.
Last December, Kevin Shenkman wrote a letter claiming Glendale has had a lack of Latino council members and is violating the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, which aims to protect the political clout of...